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Severe, 6 weeks1496Projects326

1496 severe, 6 weeks · 326 projects

TensorFlowGHSA-wp3c-xw9g-gpcg

Lack of validation in `SparseDenseCwiseMul`

TensorFlow

CVE-2021-29567 · Published May 21, 2021 · updated Jul 8, 2026

Low2.5
Fix: upgrade to 2.1.4 or later (4 fixed versions below)
GitHub advisory

Impact

Due to lack of validation in tf.raw_ops.SparseDenseCwiseMul, an attacker can trigger denial of service via CHECK-fails or accesses to outside the bounds of heap allocated data:

```python

import tensorflow as tf

indices = tf.constant([], shape=[10, 0], dtype=tf.int64)

values = tf.constant([], shape=[0], dtype=tf.int64)

shape = tf.constant([0, 0], shape=[2], dtype=tf.int64)

dense = tf.constant([], shape=[0], dtype=tf.int64)

tf.raw_ops.SparseDenseCwiseMul(

sp_indices=indices, sp_values=values, sp_shape=shape, dense=dense)

`

Since the [implementation](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/blob/38178a2f7a681a7835bb0912702a134bfe3b4d84/tensorflow/core/kernels/sparse_dense_binary_op_shared.cc#L68-L80) only validates the rank of the input arguments but no [constraints between dimensions](https://www.tensorflow.org/api_docs/python/tf/raw_ops/SparseDenseCwiseMul), an attacker can abuse them to trigger internal CHECK assertions (and cause program termination, denial of service) or to write to memory outside of bounds of heap allocated tensor buffers.

Patches

We have patched the issue in GitHub commit [7ae2af34087fb4b5c8915279efd03da3b81028bc](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/commit/7ae2af34087fb4b5c8915279efd03da3b81028bc).

The fix will be included in TensorFlow 2.5.0. We will also cherrypick this commit on TensorFlow 2.4.2, TensorFlow 2.3.3,...

Affected versions

PackageAffectedFixed in
tensorflow
PyPI
< 2.1.42.1.4
>= 2.2.0, < 2.2.32.2.3
>= 2.3.0, < 2.3.32.3.3
>= 2.4.0, < 2.4.22.4.2
Details and references

### Impact Due to lack of validation in `tf.raw_ops.SparseDenseCwiseMul`, an attacker can trigger denial of service via `CHECK`-fails or accesses to outside the bounds of heap allocated data: ```python import tensorflow as tf indices = tf.constant([], shape=[10, 0], dtype=tf.int64) values = tf.constant([], shape=[0], dtype=tf.int64) shape = tf.constant([0, 0], shape=[2], dtype=tf.int64) dense = tf.constant([], shape=[0], dtype=tf.int64) tf.raw_ops.SparseDenseCwiseMul( sp_indices=indices, sp_values=values, sp_shape=shape, dense=dense) ``` Since the [implementation](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/blob/38178a2f7a681a7835bb0912702a134bfe3b4d84/tensorflow/core/kernels/sparse_dense_binary_op_shared.cc#L68-L80) only validates the rank of the input arguments but no [constraints between dimensions](https://www.tensorflow.org/api_docs/python/tf/raw_ops/SparseDenseCwiseMul), an attacker can abuse them to trigger internal `CHECK` assertions (and cause program termination, denial of service) or to write to memory outside of bounds of heap allocated tensor buffers. ### Patches We have patched the issue in GitHub commit [7ae2af34087fb4b5c8915279efd03da3b81028bc](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/commit/7ae2af34087fb4b5c8915279efd03da3b81028bc). The fix will be included in TensorFlow 2.5.0. We will also cherrypick this commit on TensorFlow 2.4.2, TensorFlow 2.3.3, TensorFlow 2.2.3 and TensorFlow 2.1.4, as these are also affected and still in supported range. ### For more information Please consult [our security guide](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/blob/master/SECURITY.md) for more information regarding the security model and how to contact us with issues and questions. ### Attribution This vulnerability has been reported by Yakun Zhang and Ying Wang of Baidu X-Team.

CVSS 3.1
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
Severity from
GitHub (reviewed advisory)
Weakness
CWE-617
Also known as
BIT-tensorflow-2021-29567, CVE-2021-29567, PYSEC-2021-204, PYSEC-2021-495, PYSEC-2021-693

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